U . S .

D E PA R T M E N T O F S TAT E

State
DECEMBER 2005

MAGAZINE

Contents
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Contents
 CONTENTS DECEMBER 2005

A row of chalets marks the human presence among

the wild animals in Botswana’s Central Kalahari

10
Game Reserve.

GOING TO GABORONE

NUMBER 496
10 POST OF THE MONTH: GABORONE 2 From the Secretary
Botswana sets high and modern goals and faces modern problems, like HIV.
3 Letters to the Editor
16 OFFICE OF THE MONTH: DOMESTIC ENVIRONMENTAL 4 In the News
AND SAFETY DIVISION
Employees call this office for domestic workplace issues, big and small. 9 Direct from the D.G.

20 PUBLIC DIPLOMACY: HELPING NEEDY SOUTH AFRICANS 34 Safety Scene

Hearts and Hands stimulates local diplomatic community to give and to help.
36 People Like You
22 SOCIAL SECURITY ABROAD 38 Education and Training
Federal Benefits Units at U.S. embassies help thousands of citizens living abroad.
39 Appointments
24 STRENGTH THROUGH UNITY
Bureau of Arms Control conferences seek stronger international cooperation. 40 Obituaries

40 Retirements
26 A GRAND OPENING
Department dedicates Colorado Passport Agency to meet emergency travel needs.
ON THE COVER
28 KATRINA’S LEGACY A painting of a dove above a circle
Office of Foreign Missions adds international expertise to the State South team. of the world’s children calls forth
the holiday season’s eternal theme:
32 WINNING THE WAR FOR TALENT “Peace on Earth.” Painting by Katie
Updating the 1999 report funded by the Una Chapman Cox Foundation. S. Atkinson
 FROM THE SECRETARY
SECRETARY CONDOLEEZZA RICE

A Holiday Message
from the Secretary
In this holiday season, I want to send my best wishes to every member of
our extended State Department family.
The holidays are a time to be thankful for what we have—most of all for our
families and friends, who enrich our days and remind us why we have chosen
the noble calling of public service. All of us in Washington are especially grate-
ful for our colleagues overseas, many of whom are serving far away from their
families.
The holidays are also a time to be mindful of what, and whom, we have lost.
We will never forget our friends and co-workers who died this year while
advancing our nation’s diplomacy. We remember their names, we honor their
sacrifices, and we send our deepest condolences to their loved ones.
As this year draws to a close, we take stock of the many great goals we have
achieved. Our State Department is realizing President Bush’s vision of a world
where liberty and prosperity, democratic principles and human rights enrich
the lives of all people—a world of greater justice in foreign lands and greater
security in ours.
All of you have helped to shape unprecedented progress for democracy this
year in places like Ukraine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, and the Palestinian
territories. You are also strengthening America’s global efforts to feed the
hungry, to cure and care for the sick, and to assist those less fortunate than us
in building better lives for themselves and their families. Throughout the
world, you are helping others to transform their own lives.
We continue to approach all of our diplomatic missions, however, with
absolute humility. We remain humble in our support of democratic aspira-
tions, because we recall how much time and sacrifice was needed for all
Americans finally to secure our democratic rights. We are humble, as well,
because this year has reminded us that certain forces will always remain
beyond our control, capable of causing immense devastation, both overseas
and here at home. At these times, as we have seen this year, your efforts to rally
the world’s support and generosity are essential to saving lives and easing
suffering.
No matter what the challenge, I believe in all of you and your ability to
succeed. I see the fruits of your success every day in the Department and in all
of my travels. Now, if we remain true to our principles, I know that we can
leave behind a world that is changed for the better.
I wish all of you, and your families, a safe and happy holiday, and I look
forward to continuing our good work in the new year. I

2 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E
Contents
 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Sports and Diplomacy
The photo of Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice on the cover of the
September issue of State Magazine
with the notation “Building
Bridges Through Baseball”
gives courage to those of us
who valued sports as con-
tributors to both national
and international mutual
understanding throughout
our Foreign Service careers.
During over four years in
Togo, I encouraged Opera-
tions Crossroads to put
together a group of athletes
not only for training the
Togolese, but to encourage
competition with other countries. In
time, the concept of East-West African
Games resulted in Ghana, Togo, lasting friendships could be made. The
Dahomey and Nigeria sending teams exchanges also offered good opportu-
in soccer, boxing, track and field and nities for open discussions about our
tennis to Kampala, Uganda. The games own country.
turned out suffi-
ciently well that William B. Hussey
the Nigerian Sports Retired Foreign Service Officer
Council was eager to
plan a similar sports
festival for spring of LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
the following year. Letters should not exceed 250
Along with the words and should include the
merits of good health writer’s name, address and
and development daytime phone number. Letters
of moral character will be edited for length and
learned in train- clarity. Only signed letters will be
ing, there was the considered. Names may be with-
gradual understand- held upon request. You can reach
ing that despite cultural differences, us at statemagazine@state.gov.
politics or economic conditions,

FROM THE EDITOR

We have learned that the story “The Art of Diplomacy”
published in the November issue contains some informa-
tion requiring clarification. We thank Anne Johnson,
director of the Department of State’s ART in Embassies
Program of the Overseas Buildings Operations, for the
following information:
Not all of the photographs in the November article are
actual or accurate images of current or planned installa-
tions.
The Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies
is a nonprofit, nongovernmental private foundation that
supplements the ART in Embassies Program with its
mission of visual diplomacy abroad, by generously donat-
ing primarily site specific sculpture to selected new
embassy buildings, and supporting preservation projects
in significant buildings. Additionally, FAPE has con-
tributed major works of art for permanent installation in
our Embassies abroad with both the Lee Kimche McGrath
Original Print Collection and the millennium Gift to the
Nation, in which two hundred works of art by prominent
American artists were donated to our Embassies world-
wide. The goal of both programs, according to Ms.
Johnson, “is to share the best of American culture, created
by some of our most important citizens, our artists.”
The ART in Embassies Program was founded more
than 40 years ago by an act of Congress and has been in
continuous service to U.S. embassies since 1964. The proj-
ects mentioned in the article, the Art in New Embassies
Program, do not constitute a new ART in Embassies
Program. They refer instead to the sculptures purchased
so far by FAPE for several New Embassy Complex build-
ings, as well as other planned signature works to be
donated by the foundation for selected buildings current-
ly under construction.
The Department’s in-house ART in Embassies Program
is both a loan program for the residences of American
ambassadors, curating about 60 new exhibitions a year,
and a purchase program, buying most of the art for the
NEC buildings. Currently, 3,500 works of art by promi-
nent American artists are on loan to ART for exhibitions
in residences of U.S. ambassadors. Additionally, ART has
in the last year purchased 60 works of art by American,
Armenian-American and Armenian artists for the NEC in
Yerevan; 72 works of art for Tashkent by Native-
American, American and Uzbeki artists; and 30 works of
art by African-American and Cameroonian artists for
Yaounde. Thirty-five newly initiated NEC projects are
currently on the ART in Embassies list for the purchase of
new permanent collections to be acquired both from
American artists and artists living in host countries.
We regret any confusion this article might have caused.

DECEMBER 2005 3
Contents
 I N T H E N E W S

Culture WITH A
Cause
Lima Art Night Benefits Peruvian Woman and Children
What is the connection between USEA article art exhibi- appreciated the more than 500 oil paintings, sculptures,
tions and pediatric burn victims? In Lima, Peru, it is clear ceramics and batiks on display. Performance artists
and direct. The United States Embassy Association uses its mingled with the crowd, adding to the festival atmosphere.
annual Noche de Arte as a fund raiser to
provide relief to burn-scarred children, as well
as support other charities that benefit poor
and challenged women and children. The asso-
ciation’s efforts over the past 36 years have
provided more than $1.2 million to those in
need.
Noche de Arte is a highly renowned cultural
event where the best of Peruvian art can be
appreciated and purchased. Participating is an
honor for Peruvian artists, whether celebrated
or little known.
This year, Noche de Arte changed its
formula. “In order to expand the event and
generate more money for the children, we had
to change venues,” said USEA President Harold
Price. “We had to break with the tradition of
hosting the event at the Ambassador’s resi-
dence and move to the larger and more easily
accessible Museo de la Nacion.”
Attendees enjoy the art and performing mimes.
Ambassador Curtis Struble gave media
interviews, which resulted in articles and broadcast cover- Some 4,000 art aficionados attended over two nights, the
age that fueled the anticipation. highest attendance ever for Noche de Arte, which has
He and his wife Susan, along with Alvaro Roca Rey, pres- already decided to hold its 2006 event at the Museo de la
ident of the Museo de la Nacion, welcomed guests, who Nacion again.

4 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E
 I N T H E
Unlike American football, which allows only
11 men to be on the field, Canadian football
requires 12 men to be on the field and gives
only three chances to make a first down.
DACOR FOUNDATION OFFERS GRANTS
TO FS CHILDREN AT YALE, HOTCHKISS
Several scholarships and fellowships will be available in
academic year 2006–2007 for children and grandchildren of
Foreign Service officers, active or retired, for study at the
Hotchkiss School and Yale University.
These Dreyfus Awards, sponsored by the Diplomatic and
Consular Officers Retired Bacon House Foundation, are
made possible by a bequest from the late Ambassador Louis
G. Dreyfus, Jr.
Hotchkiss will seek to select one enrolled student for a
$5,000 scholarship. Applicants should contact the director of
financial aid, The Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, CT 06039-
0800, providing evidence of a parent’s or grandparent’s
Foreign Service status.
Awards to Yale students, based on merit, will be made by
the foundation in consultation with Yale. At Yale, the awards
are coordinated by the Yale Center for International and Area
Studies, Henry R. Luce Hall, 34 Hillhouse Ave., New Haven,
CT 06520. Aspirants may apply for the award at the time of
N E W S
Secretary Rice Plays
Ball to Register
Americans in Canada
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and
Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins joined with
Consul General Keith Powell during the Secretary’s
recent visit to Ottawa to encourage American citizens
residing in Canada to register with the embassy.
American citizen team members and managers of
the Canadian Football League’s Ottawa Renegades
answered the call to register and took the opportunity
to make some new fans, including Secretary Rice, who
received a team jersey.
Secretary Rice receives a jersey
from Renegade team member
Johnny Scott.
their application to Yale. Awards to undergraduates may be
up to $5,000. Awards to graduate and professional students
may be up to $10,000. There is no restriction as to field of
study, but if there are many applicants, preference will be
given to students pursuing a master’s degree in a field related
to foreign affairs.
To apply, students should send a copy of the parent’s or
grandparent’s most recent Foreign Service appointment or
promotion document, a brief letter of interest with full
contact information, resume, most recent transcript and
one-page statement of academic goals, work experience,
awards and non-academic achievements to DACOR Bacon
House Foundation, Attn: William C. Hamilton, 1801 F St.,
N.W., Washington, DC 20006. Applicants for graduate
fellowships should include a page outlining career goals.
The deadline for applications is March 15, 2006. For more
information, contact Sherry Barndollar Rock at prog.coord@
dacorbacon.org.
DECEMBER 2005 5
 I N T H E N E W S

NEW SOFTWARE UNVEILED AT ANTIVIRUS EVENT

The AntiVirus program cele-
brated 10 years at the
Department on Sept. 15. The
event, held in the Exhibit Hall of
the Harry S Truman Building, fea-
tured AntiVirus Program
Manager Valerie Canty; the
program’s first manager, Ted
Payne; Acting Chief Informa-
tion Officer Jay Anania; Under
Secretary for Management
Henrietta Fore; and the anti-
virus vendors Symantec Corp.,
Tr e n d M i c r o a n d g Te c h
Solutions.
Mr. Payne, who founded the
Virus Incident Response Team,
gave a brief introduction, then
Mr. Anania stressed that the
most important part of computer
security is not the software but
the end-user. Under Secretary
Fore said she was impressed by
the amount of spam and viruses
that was stopped at the gateway.
She praised the work that the
VIRT does daily.
Symantec AntiVirus 10.0 was
unveiled. In addition to
antivirus protection, it
also offers real-time scan-
ning, detection and
eradication for adware
and spyware threats. The
AntiVirus staff distributed
more than 2,200 home-use
antivirus CDs.

Muslim Chaplain Promotes U.S. Freedoms in Italy Tour

With support from the U.S. Consulate General in Milan, “Inter-religious dialogue is not a matter of choice, it is a
Georgetown University Muslim chaplain Imam Yahya Hendi must,” he said, adding, “We must make a win-win situation
put the crowning touches on a summer speaking tour in Italy of the opportunity to overcome differences and work togeth-
by underscoring the freedom of religion, education and er by finding the similarities that all people of faith possess.”
speech in the United States and the welcoming nature of U.S. More than 1 million Muslims live in Italy, the majority in
society. northern Italy. During his U.S. Speaker tour, Imam Hendi
He was speaking at a conference titled “Islam in Europe— also spoke in Rome and was received by authorities on inter-
European Islam,” which looked at Islam’s effect on cities, its faith dialogue at the Vatican.
impact on education systems, its cultur-
al impact and its legal status. After Imam
Hendi spoke, panel moderator Professor
Paolo Branca of Milan’s Catholic
University said, “No matter what one
may think of U.S. policy, no one can
question the freedom and welcome that
the United States gives immigrants—
and especially those whose religions
place them in the minority.”
Imam Hendi also spoke with students
in a Milan Catholic University course on
intercultural mediation and led Friday
prayers for 3,000 faithful at Milan’s Viale
Padova mosque. At each public speaking
opportunity, he provided examples of
cooperative efforts carried on by U.S.
Christian, Jewish and Muslim commu-
nities in support of one another.

6 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E
 I N T H E N E W S

BELARUSIANS
PROFILED
IN PHOTOS
Dian McDonald took an eight-year-old
camera that fit into her purse and made it a
public diplomacy tool.
While serving as the public affairs officer at
the U.S. Embassy in Belarus, Ms. McDonald
spotted a middle-aged woman with “a long,
graceful neck and high cheekbones…with her
hair pulled back from her face…her profile as
striking and unforgettable as Nefertiti’s [an
ancient Egyptian queen].”
The stranger’s profile, she recalls, inspired her The above photo of two women in native
to capture the emotions and culture of this costume appeared in the Minsk exhibit
featuring the work of Dian McDonald,
former Soviet republic by photographing the shown at right.
profiles of its people.
Her photos were so evocative, 97 were displayed at the Minsk Regional Library from
June 21 to July 12 in an exhibition called simply “Profiles of Belarus.”
“I believe a profile can reflect a lot about a person—sometimes more than a photo-
graph showing the front view of the face,” she says.
Profiles require more interaction with the subject but are usually rich with
emotion—pride, joy, intellect, enthusiasm, patience, she explained. “My experiment
brought me in touch with people from many walks of life,” she says. “I was delighted
by the cooperation I received. No one ever said ‘no.’ ”
“Dian’s indefatigable efforts to promote good will and mutual understanding
between Americans and Belarusians will long outlast her stay in Belarus,” George Krol,
the U.S. ambassador, remarked at the exhibit’s opening.
After 35 years with the State Department, Ms. McDonald retired in September.

FSI TEAMS WITH ARMY

From left, Ambassador Margaret McMillion, deputy commandant for
international affairs at the Army War College, and Susan Swart, dean
of the School of Applied Information Technology at FSI, pose with
graduates David Luna, Oscar De Soto, Robert Hugins and Todd
Brown. Third from right is Major General David Huntoon, comman-
dant of the War College.
WAR COLLEGE ON
DISTANCE EDUCATION
Four Department employees were among the first
group to graduate from the Distance Education
Program at the U.S. Army War College on July 29.
The students were enrolled as part of a pilot
program under the auspices of the Foreign Service
Institute. They completed a Master of Strategic
Studies through online classes and two two-week in-
residence programs while continuing in their regular
assignments.
Seven Foreign Service officers are in the class of
2006, and seven more joined the class of 2007 in May.

DECEMBER 2005 7
 I N T H E N E W S

AFSA Honors
Susan Moorse at
Farewell Luncheon
During a farewell luncheon on Oct. 25,
American Foreign Service Association
President Tony Holmes and AFSA State Vice
President Steve Kashkett presented a plaque
to Susan Moorse, the Department’s outgo-
ing labor-management negotiator, to
acknowledge the productive and cordial
relationship that AFSA had with her during
her tenure. Ms. Moorse has been named
director of the U.S. Passport Office in San
Susan Moorse is flanked by AFSA President Tony Holmes and Vice President Steve Kashkett. Francisco.

Donated Computers Help

Parents Learn and Grow
When Mark Wilson arrived in Skopje as the informa-
tion management officer, he started a volunteer effort
called “Computers to Classrooms,” intended to solicit
new or used information technology equipment for
refurbishment and donation.
Once the donated equipment is in good working
order, he places it in mental health institutions and
underprivileged schools. He also helps to set it up and
train recipients.
In Macedonia, people with serious mental illnesses
are traditionally viewed as unable to participate in com-
munity life. After mental health reforms in 2000, Tired but happy walkers pose by the 100-kilometer marker.
attitudes started to shift away from custodial care toward
treatment in the community. However, the government
has few if any financial resources, so training programs 24-Hour Walk Nets Pledges
to help patients learn skills for possible deinstitutional-
ization are nonexistent. for Medical Needs
Mr. Wilson saw a chance to help. He spends a lot of In late September, several employees at the U.S. Embassy
his off-duty time and his own financial resources in solic- in Manila and local mountaineers embarked on a 24-hour,
iting donations and refurbishing equipment. nonstop, 100-kilometer walk. They weren’t out to beat the
His latest donation was to the critical-care mental Guinness world record of 142.25 miles in 24 hours set in
health facility in Demir Kapija. As a result of his efforts 1976. Unlike the record walk, which was done under con-
and generous donations from the embassy community, trolled conditions, this one was done over rugged terrain
the facility now has new computers and Internet con- while fighting traffic during typhoon season.
nectivity for use in educating residents with special
The goal was to raise funds to support children and poor
needs. Technology can be especially useful in enabling
people suffering from various medical conditions. One, with
them to reach their full potential and perhaps be dein-
a rare face cancer, needed reconstructive surgery; another
stitutionalized, a goal of the facility.
The director of the facility, Ljube Tegova, said, “It is
needed an operation to repair a hole in the heart; a third
the hope that the use of these computers will give the needed a heart valve implant.
hospital’s residents and faculty new methods of teach- After the walk, which three people successfully completed
ing, learning, discovering and growing.” in 24 hours, many embassy employees pledged donations. To
date, $1,000 has been collected.

8 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E
Contents
DIRECT FROM THE D.G.
AMBASSADOR W. ROBERT PEARSON

Winning the War for Talent

If we are to fulfill the Secretary’s vision of transformational diplomacy and
meet the challenges of 21st century diplomacy, the Department must do all
it can to build and retain its extraordinarily talented workforce. We must
ensure that we continue to recruit, develop and retain the best of the best,
which, in today’s world, also includes providing support for families—
particularly while employees are abroad doing interesting, meaningful work.
The Una Chapman Cox Foundation, which is celebrating its 25th anniver-
sary, continues to be a true partner in our effort to win the war for talent.
Dedicated to helping create a strong, professional Foreign Service, the
Foundation has generously funded special projects related to recruitment,
operational readiness, family member employment and improvement of
services to our colleagues. It has helped us to enhance morale, improve train-
ing and increase public awareness of the work that we do. In these
challenging times, its partnership with us is more important than ever.
In particular, I am grateful for the Foundation’s recent support in updat-
ing the 1999 McKinsey & Company “War for Talent” report. The initial
McKinsey report identified five specific areas on which State needed to
focus: talent management, expectations, job satisfaction, performance and
retention.
This year, I asked McKinsey & Company to evaluate the progress we have
made since 1999 in recruiting and hiring, professional development, com-
pensation, benefits and family support, performance evaluation and
leadership. I also asked them to determine what it would take for the
Department to move to the next level of talent management.
From February through May, McKinsey & Company interviewed more
than 45 current and former employees, conducted focus groups with more
than 100 Civil Service and Foreign Service employees and met with top
members of Secretary Rice’s leadership team. McKinsey briefed the Secretary
on the report in November.
The Secretary outlined her human resource management priorities as
• improving the diversity of our workforce
• having employees with broad skills and the flexibility to deploy them
as needed
• ensuring that our employees receive the training and support they
need
• securing the resources to take care of our people, to secure our facili-
ties and to modernize our system of communications
The results of the 2005 report are encouraging. They show that the
Department has made significant progress in improving talent management,
particularly in the areas of recruiting and hiring and in the overall commit-
ment to leadership. There is, as you might expect, still work to be done. This
report has given us a critical road map for making further improvements in
the Foreign Service and will help us to develop a comprehensive implemen-
tation plan. For a more detailed description of the report’s findings, see the
article on page 32. I

DECEMBER 2005 9
Contents
The rising sun signals a
new day in Botswana.

PHOTOGRAPH: CORBIS
POST OF THE MONTH

GABORONE
SUCCESS WITH A CLOUD

By Jacqueline Holland-Craig

DECEMBER 2005 11
Above: Traditional dancers perform at the Ambassador’s residence. Below: The yellow-billed hornbill is a common site around Gaborone.
The U.S. Embassy in Gaborone sits in a country made rect. Botswana is indeed largely made up of the Kalahari
famous as the home of Mma Ramotswe of Alexander McCall Desert, but it is a semi-desert covered in tall grasses and
Smith’s “No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” series. McCall Smith bushes. The bushmen, more properly called the San, for the
portrays Botswana as a sleepy and neighborly country of most part do not lead the back-to-nature life portrayed in
another era, and in many ways it is. You can still find the the film, but are being integrated into the broader society,
places mentioned in the book and the personalities typified however painfully.
exist widely: solid, honest and caring folk.
But visitors who go in search of that old-
fashioned world are usually disappointed,
because Botswana has moved out of the past
and into the 21st century. High-rise office
buildings have begun to predominate in
Gaborone, along with late-model cars and large,
modern shopping complexes.
Botswana has modern goals—diversification
PHOTOGRAPHS: U.S. EMBASSY GABORONE

of the economy, attracting tourism, security—

and modern problems, the foremost being that
approximately 37 percent of pregnant women
of childbearing age and many other citizens
carry the HIV virus.
Another image conjured up at the mention
of Botswana is the vast, sandy desert and
inquisitive bushmen of The Gods Must Be
Crazy. That image, too, would be mostly incor-

12 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E
 The San were the first inhabitants of Botswana. Bantu-
speaking tribes then moved into the area before 1000 B.C. AT A G L A N C E
Botswana is one of the few African countries that were
never colonized. At the request of local leaders, the British
administered Botswana as a protectorate, Bechuanaland,
from 1885 to 1966, when the country achieved full inde-
pendence. The discovery of diamonds a year later brought
wealth and growth.
Botswana has maintained a full multiparty democracy
since independence. Government officials have proved
good custodians of the country’s diamond income by
investing in infrastructure, education, health and tourism.
They have wisely opted for high-cost/low-impact eco-
tourism to maintain the pristine Okavango Delta, a unique
environment where the large Okavango River from Angola
empties into the Kalahari Desert, creating an inland
“swamp” inhabited by the full range of African wild
animals. Hollywood stars and other wealthy travelers fork
over $300–$500 per night to experience the beautiful
wilderness. Embassy families usually brave the expense
once in a tour, just to say they’ve done it. Country name: Botswana
Botswana and the United States have a warm relation-
ship. The U.S. regularly cites Botswana as an example of
Capital: Gaborone
good governance—an African success story. President Bush
and, before him, President Clinton and Vice President Gore
paid visits. The post hosts eight U.S. government agencies. Government: Parliamentary republic
Botswana was chosen in 1995 as the U.S. Agency for
International Development’s regional center for Southern
Africa. Independence: September 30, 1966 (from the
Due to the high incidence of HIV in this Texas-sized United Kingdom)
country of only 1.7 million people, the mission focuses on
assisting Botswana to confront its HIV/AIDS crisis. Languages: Setswana, Kalanga, Sekgalagadi,
Botswana was the first country in the world to publicly English and others
fund anti-retroviral drugs for infected citizens, even though
the expense threatens to eat up its entire budget. The
President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief this year pro- Population: 1.7 million
vided $40 million to fund programs targeting prevention,
treatment and care.
Total area: 600,370 square kilometers
Though all sections of the mission—State, Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, USAID, Peace Corps and
Defense—contribute, the CDC is the primary HIV/AIDS Approximate size: Slightly smaller than Texas
implementing agency, with offices in Gaborone and
Francistown, Botswana’s second largest city. A staff of 150
monitors the work of partners and conducts extensive Currency: pula (BWP)
medical research into tuberculosis and HIV. In 2001, the
U.S. established a network of voluntary counseling and Per capita income: $9,200
testing centers for HIV/AIDS so that all citizens would be
able to know their status.
This vibrant and busy mission also concerns itself with Adult HIV/AIDS rate: 37.3 percent
many other issues. The ambassador is Secretary Rice’s rep-
resentative to the Southern African Development Airports: 85 (10 with paved runways)
Community, whose secretariat is in Gaborone. State and
USAID work together to broker transborder wildlife con-
servation agreements. The International Broadcasting Television stations: 1
Bureau transmitting station in Selebi-Phikwe sends Voice
of America programs all over Africa. The International Law SOURCE: CIA World Factbook 2005
Enforcement Academy trains African police officers.

DECEMBER 2005 13
 USAID operates the
Southern Africa Global
Competitiveness Hub, which is
improving the competitiveness
of products and services in
southern Africa and promoting
regional trade and exports to
the U.S. under the African
Growth and Opportunity Act.
The ambassador and embassy
commercial officer work with
the Hub, the government and
private institutions to stimulate
and diversify the economy. This
PHOTOGRAPHS: U.S. EMBASSY GABORONE

Above: Information management spe-

cialist Michael Donovan and Theresa
Davis of the Centers for Disease Control
pet a cheetah at a game reserve near
Gaborone. Right: Embassy systems
employees Eddie Amankwah, Ronald
Modisaemang and Emma Assey, consult
with temporary-duty visitor Mohamed
Ndiaye.

14 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E
 Left: From left, embassy employees Brian Carney, Doug Marvin, Sgt.
Andrew Yetter, Marco Sims and Sgt. Matthew Bolduc celebrate July 4
at the deputy chief of mission’s residence.

Above: Leonard Thebe and Stichberry Monkatsu open the pouch. Left:
Public Affairs Officer Judy Butterman is dwarfed by a giant piece of
machinery at the Jwaneng diamond mine.

temperatures usually reach 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Grocery

is an uphill struggle in a country with largely nonarable land,
little rainfall and no direct access to the sea.
The main chancery, built in 1988, was one of the first
Inman buildings, with a 100-foot setback, sturdy walls and
blast-proof windows. USAID, the Peace Corps and CDC have
their own facilities in town. ILEA is housed on a beautiful
campus that is part of the Police College, 80 kilometers south
of Gaborone.
Life for mission staff is pleasant. Although summers are
hot, low humidity makes them bearable and winter daytime
stores are large, clean and modern, providing almost every
imaginable food item. The shopping malls have department
stores, boutiques, restaurants and movie theaters. Housing is
spacious and domestic help is available and affordable. The
embassy recreation center has a gym, tennis court, barbeque
equipment and large play area. Schools are good and go
through grade 12, so there is no need to send children to
boarding school.
Botswana’s motto has been “Africa’s Best Kept Secret.”
Though the secret of the Okavango Delta is undisputedly
out, much of the magnificent country still remains undiscov-
ered. A few mission members have explored it via a network
of paved and dirt roads. Those who venture out can see cave
paintings in the Tsodilo Hills, the majestic landscape of the
Tuli Block and the Makgadikgadi Pans, an ancient dried up
lake. The Kalahari Central Game Reserve is only a few hours’
drive from Gaborone and offers both a luxury lodge and
camping. Paved roads lead to favorite destinations in South
Africa—Sun City, Kruger Game Park, Johannesburg, Durban
and Cape Town.
The world of Mma Ramotswe and the San is irrevocably
changed. Botswana has recognized that its battle against
HIV/AIDS will determine its very existence and has commit-
ted its resources to this struggle. The U.S. Mission will
continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with Botswana in this
war for the foreseeable future. I
The author is the management officer at the U.S. Embassy in
Gaborone.

DECEMBER 2005 15
Contents
OFFICE OF THE MONTH
Building Management Specialist Jim Frazier checks the fire alarm board.
Office Strives to Keep
Workers Safe and the
Environment Clean
Heavy overnight rains flood a Department building in
Charleston, and the building manager needs to know if it’s
safe for employees to enter the building. A Department
employee in Rosslyn has just been diagnosed with carpal
tunnel syndrome and is looking for advice on how to adjust
his computer workstation. An e-mail message says that the
design plans for the Shultz Center expansion need a
life/safety review. And the Office of the Federal
Environmental Executive is looking for data on the
Department’s recycling and green procurement programs.
Who do you call? If you work at State, call the Domestic
Environmental and Safety Division. Handling crises such as
these is all in a day’s work for the DESD staff.
BY SUSAN MCDONALD AND CAROLYN PIERSON
16 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E
As a division of the Bureau of Administration
(Administration/Operations/Facility Management Services),
PHOTOGRAPHS: DOMESTIC ENVIRONMENTAL AND SAFETY DIVISION
DESD was created in 2002 to provide technical support and
expertise to all the Department’s domestic work locations.
DESD parallels Safety, Health and Environmental in
Overseas Building Operations, which provides comparable
support services to all overseas posts. DESD collaborates
with SHEM, the Office of Medical Services and Human
Resources, among others, to ensure a healthy work force and
a safe working environment at State.
“We’re here to help others accomplish their mission safely
and in an environmentally friendly way,” said Dr. Harry
Mahar, DESD’s chief. DESD staff members include experts in
a range of disciplines, including fire
safety, worker health and safety, A T A G L A N C E
energy conservation, environmental
protection and engineering and
facilities management. Many DESD Office name: Domestic Environmental and Safety Division
staff members are board-certified or
professionally licensed in their tech- Symbol: A/OPR/FMS/DESD
nical discipline, according to Dr.
Mahar. Office Chief: Dr. Harry Mahar
Here are some of DESD’s program
highlights:
Staff size: 14
Fire Protection
DESD’s fire protection experts Office location: Harry S Truman Building
work behind the scenes to ensure
that all the Department’s buildings Web site: www.aoprfms.a.state.gov
meet fire codes and life/safety regu-
lations. The Fire and Life Safety
group evaluates design of all new
facilities and renovations and is in the process of upgrading cling, green building design, green procurement and the
systems in State-owned facilities to provide state-of-the-art integration of environmental responsibilities through
fire detection and emergency communication. Environmental Management Systems. Staff members serve
The division’s current technology is so sophisticated that as the Department’s liaison on a variety of interagency
while Hurricane Wilma swept across Florida and local power committees for “greening” the federal government.
and telephone systems were out of service, DESD fire protec-
tion engineers in the Harry S Truman Building were still able Employee Health and Safety
to monitor the Florida Regional Center building’s status and DESD’s industrial hygienists and safety specialists respond
communicate with staff. to a host of employee concerns, including ergonomics,
indoor air quality, mold, asbestos and noise. Staff members
Environmental Protection review accident data to determine whether new safety efforts
The Environmental Protection function is responsible for are needed.
ensuring that the Department’s domestic facilities and DESD has been extensively involved in redesigning the
operations comply with environmental laws and Executive mail-sorting operations at the Department’s Diplomatic
Orders. DESD staff also champions programs such as recy- Pouch and Mail facility to make sure that the mail is safe

Left: DESD performs respirator fit testing. Above: Division employees conduct safety training.

DECEMBER 2005 17
OFFICE OF THE MONTH

Left: DESD promotes recycling programs in the Department. Above:

Matthew Woodburn checks a manhole. Underground tanks and passage-
ways can pose hazards.

Training and Information

from biological, chemical or radiation hazards. That effort—
a collaboration among DESD, Real Property Management,
the Office of Medical Services and Diplomatic Pouch and
Mail—has resulted in a state-of-the-art mail processing facil-
ity now being emulated by other federal agencies.
Emergency Response
DESD staff help clean up chemical spills. They are also
prepared to assist with response to “white powder” incidents
that have arisen in the wake of the 2001 anthrax attacks, pro-
viding Diplomatic Security “first responders” with technical
and analytical support to identify and characterize suspected
contaminants. DESD works closely with the “A” Bureau’s
Office of Emergency Management and other Department
offices to implement emergency response plans for the many
buildings within the Department’s domestic operations.
DESD publishes two newsletters, E-Safety News and Waste
and Wealth, designed to provide Department employees with
news they can use to protect themselves and the environ-
ment. Both publications are distributed electronically via
Department notice.
Staff members are available to provide training on a
PHOTOGRAPHS: DOMESTIC ENVIRONMENTAL AND SAFETY DIVISION
variety of topics, such as office ergonomics and safety. In col-
laboration with other bureaus, DESD helps promote
environmentally sustainable practices and programs during
Earth Day and at other similar events.
Employees can reach DESD via e-mail at DESD@
State.gov. DESD also can be reached by calling the Service
Desk at (202) 647-6001. Employees can also access the divi-
sion’s web site on the State Department Intranet home page
by clicking Workplace Issues: Safety/Health; Domestic. I
Ms. McDonald is a board-certified industrial hygienist in
DESD and Ms. Pierson is a management analyst in the Office
of Facilities Management Services.

18 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E
Automated External Defibrillators Are Here to Save
Each year more than 350,000 Americans die from sudden cardiac arrest, a condition in which the heart mis-
fires in a rhythm called ventricular fibrillation. This rhythm can be fatal within a few minutes if left untreated. Until
recently, cardiac pulmonary resuscitation
was the only treatment. Now a new tech-
nology is available: an automated external
defibrillator. This device is easy to operate,
simple to maintain and very effective in the
treatment of SCA.
State and federal legislation has been
passed to promote the use of AEDs in the
workplace and to protect users from civil lia-
bility. The Domestic Environmental and
Safety Division is in the process of outfitting
domestic buildings with AEDs, just as the
Office of Medical Services is doing for
embassies. The goal is to increase the
chances of surviving a cardiac incident.
The AED program is a collaborative effort
of Medical Services, Diplomatic Security
and Facilities Management Services. A
three-year, phased-in installation will deploy
the devices in domestic buildings housing 50 or more Department employees. The goal is to attain an AED
response time of five minutes or less. Phase One, installing AEDs in larger facilities in the Washington, D.C.,
metropolitan area, was just completed. Phase Two will expand the program to the four large regional centers;
Phase Three will include smaller facilities. The installation schedule is detailed below.

PHASE ONE PHASE TWO PHASE THREE

Harry S Truman Building SA-2 SA-7

Blair House SA-14 SA-11 complex
SA-33 International SA-15 SA-17
Chancery Center SA-21 SA-18
SA-1 SA-22 SA-24
SA-3 SA-32 SA-27
SA-4 Charleston Regional Center SA-29
SA-6 Florida Regional Center SA-34
SA-20 Portsmouth Consular Center SA-39
SA-26 Beltsville Information Kentucky Consular Center USUN
Management Center (when completed)
SA-42 (Shultz Center–NFATC)
SA-44

The effectiveness of this program relies heavily upon people trained to recognize sudden cardiac arrest and
use the devices. No medical experience is necessary. DESD is seeking volunteers to participate in a four-hour
CPR/AED course offered by the American Heart Association and become part of the Department’s first respon-
der network.
For additional information or to sign up for the program, contact Selena Gallagher at DESD@state.gov or
(202) 736-4069, or visit the DESD web site.

DECEMBER 2005 19
Contents
Kids enjoy a Thanksgiving luncheon organized by Hearts and Hands.
Hearts and Hands
EMBASSY VOLUNTEERS ORGANIZE TO HELP NEEDY SOUTH AFRICANS
BY OLIVIA LINDENBERG
Hearts and Hands, a charitable organization affiliated with
the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, stimulates the local diplomatic
community to raise funds for the neediest South African
charities. It has raised more than $21,000 in one year.
Founded in December 2003 by embassy family members
Debby Harrison and Tara Visani, Hearts and Hands uses the
skills and talents of many embassy volunteers, family
members and South African citizens.
20 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E
In addition to raising funds, the
group was awarded $2,300 in grants
from the Simon Kirby Trust
Foundation. This money provided
PHOTOGRAPHS: U.S. EMBASSY PRETORIA
playground equipment for an orphan-
age and sewing machines for a local
trust that supplies school uniforms
to disadvantaged Soweto Township
students.
As word of its existence has spread,
Hearts and Hands has received and ful-
filled a variety of other requests from
 Left: The Good Hope Foundation receives a washer and
dryer. Hearts and Hands cofounder and president Debby
Harrison, kneeling, helps the recipients celebrate.
Below: Hearts and Hands donated money to buy school
uniforms for the Sithabile Child and Youth Care Center.

The committee was

the organizing force
behind the
Thanksgiving luncheon
for the 200 residents
of the Good Hope
Foundation, where
the kids—for the first
time ever—enjoyed a
turkey dinner with all
the trimmings.

charitable and nonprofit institutions.
These ranged from blankets and bicy-
cles to cash, clothing, soup, shoes,
kiddie gyms and kitchen facilities.
Routinely, Hearts and Hands com-
mittee members receive calls from
schools, orphanages and infant safety
homes. Members visit each facility and
assess its needs. The committee then
decides on an appropriate assistance
plan. In one instance, it raised $5,200
for the Tshwane Place of Safety in
Pretoria to secure a three-year lease,
which was a factor in the adoption of
six more babies.
Some donations made by Hearts and
Hands are annual or one-time gifts and
others are ongoing. Examples of the
former are a Thanksgiving food drive,
participation in the Marines’ Toys for
Tots drive and the purchase of house-
hold appliances. The latter include
providing soup and bread each week to
a local church’s soup kitchen; making
monthly visits to Sinzinani Orphanage
to distribute donated clothing, food
and toys to the children; and paying
monthly tuition fees for several Soweto
and Mamelodi preschool students. The
committee leadership keeps in touch
with each group on an almost-weekly
basis.
The committee was the organizing
force behind the Thanksgiving lunch-
eon for the 200 residents of the Good
Hope Foundation, where the kids—for
the first time ever—enjoyed a turkey
dinner with all the trimmings. Another
first-time event was arranging for a new
pair of shoes for each child at Sinzinani.
None of this could have been accom-
plished without the tireless work of
Hearts and Hands committee members
and volunteers. Besides Ms. Harrison
and Ms. Visani, they include Linda
Lockwood, Michelle Karolak, Vanessa
Seafield, Laverne Jordaan, Olivia Lin-
denberg, Kelly Jamison-White, Heidi
Inder, Victor Williams, Lucy Neher,
Barbara Price and Melissa Nuwaysir.
Hearts and Hands not only enhances
the image of the American Embassy in
Pretoria, but also exemplifies the best of
American values. I
The author is an office management spe-
cialist at the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria.

DECEMBER 2005 21
Contents
 Warsaw Federal Benefits claims
representative Joanna Majzner
helps a client complete a Social
Security application.

SOCIAL
SECURITY
ABROAD
Federal Benefits Units
at U.S. Embassies Play
Vital Roles In Serving
a Half Million Citizens
Living Abroad
BY JOHN M. GRONDELSKI

Quick—take this test. What do you

think of when you say “consular servic-
es”? Visas and visa lines? Replacing your
passport? Maybe visiting American pris-
oners in jail? All that’s true—but don’t
forget to mention “Social Security.”
Federal Benefits Units are often the
forgotten folks in consular sections
abroad—except to the almost half a
million people living outside the United
States who receive Social Security bene-
PHOTOGRAPH: WAJCIECH MANDAL

fits. Social Security pays approximately

$189 million every month to overseas
claimants. In 2004, Social Security
processed 40,474 new entitlement claims
for people living overseas.
22 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E
 Nor are FBUs merely Social Security agencies abroad.
While the lion’s share of work involves Social Security, FBUs
also cover other agencies’ benefits programs: Veterans
Administration, Office of Personnel Management, Railroad
Retirement Board and the Department of Labor.
Approximately 170 Foreign Service National employees
and seven Regional Federal Benefits Officers keep those oper-
ations going. Six of the seven RFBOs are career Social Security
Administration managers, seconded to State as consular offi-
cers with temporary commissions. One remains a Social
Security employee working for the Veterans Administration
in Manila. FSNs go through an initial nine-week training
program at Social Security in Baltimore.
Heading up seven districts, the RFBOs are based in Rome,
Frankfurt, London, Manila, Athens, Mexico City and San José.
Each of those offices administers several of the other 21
claims-taking posts operating overseas.
HUB POSTS
Warsaw is a “hub” post, along with places like Oslo,
Frankfurt and Zagreb. The hub model is the current trend in
federal benefits work, maximizing customer service and effi-
ciency by concentrating workload in a few well-staffed centers.
In devolving work to the field, Social Security recognizes that
those handling the cases better understand them because
they’re nearer to claimants. It also enables posts to partner
with neighboring non-claims-taking posts to expedite a
region’s federal benefits work.
Warsaw, for example, serves such a function for five neigh-
boring countries. Beneficiaries in the Czech Republic, Slovakia
and the three Baltic states now no longer need to mail their
cases to Baltimore and wait . . . and wait . . . and wait. . . .
Instead, they can bring that paperwork to a local embassy,
which will work with Warsaw to get the problem resolved,
quickly and competently.
Thanks to modern technology, FBUs increasingly provide
the full range of services available at a typical neighborhood
Social Security office in the States. One example is direct
deposit. Today, more than 80 percent of Social Security recip-
ients living abroad get their benefits through Electronic Funds
Transfer. EFT offers several advantages over paper checks. The
checks don’t get lost or stolen in sometimes unreliable foreign
mail systems. Benefits always arrive on time, every month.
And EFT saves the Treasury money.
But while overseas FBUs provide many of the services
offered at domestic Social Security offices, beneficiaries living
abroad do have different problems that FBUs are better geared
to help solve. Retirees getting benefits abroad can face inter-
national tax implications that differ from country to country.
Some countries withhold local taxes or medical insurance
contributions from benefits (since, except in extremely
limited cases, Medicare cannot be used abroad). And then
there’s totalization.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
The United States has signed International Social Security,
or “totalization” agreements, with 21 other countries.
Agreements are in force with all the original EU-15 members
(except Denmark), Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Japan,
South Korea, Chile, and Australia. Negotiations are planned
with several others, including Denmark, the Czech Republic
and Poland.
“Totalization” agreements do three things. They allow
workers who divide their professional lives between the
United States and another country to “total” their time
BENEFICIARIES IN THE CZECH
REPUBLIC, SLOVAKIA AND THE
THREE BALTIC STATES NOW NO
LONGER NEED TO MAIL THEIR
CASES TO BALTIMORE AND WAIT . . .
AND WAIT . . . AND WAIT. INSTEAD,
THEY CAN BRING THAT PAPER-
WORK TO A LOCAL EMBASSY,
WHICH WILL WORK WITH WARSAW
TO GET THE PROBLEM RESOLVED,
QUICKLY AND COMPETENTLY.
worked in both countries to ensure they qualify for at least
one social security system. That prevents Americans who
work abroad from falling through the social safety net.
Totalization agreements also remove the significant econom-
ic burden of dual social security taxation, which renders
American workers less attractive in overseas assignments.
Finally, totalization usually lifts legal prohibitions barring
certain beneficiaries from receiving benefits. Under U.S. law,
for example, widows or orphans of otherwise qualified
deceased workers can receive no survivor’s benefits toward
which their spouse/parent contributed, unless they are
American citizens or have been legal permanent residents for
at least five years. Those most in need of a relative’s pension,
therefore, are often the most vulnerable. In countries with
which the U.S. has bilateral Social Security agreements, FBUs
help steer claimants through the totalization process.
What does the future hold? Social Security already allows
FSN claims representatives to assign new Social Security
numbers in about half of its 28 claims-taking posts, and
expects the other half to follow soon. When that possibility
becomes real, overseas parents will not just get a Consular
Report of Birth Abroad and a new passport for their child;
they’ll get a Social Security number, too. Longer-range plans
include enabling qualified FSN claims reps to approve new
benefits claims. I
John M. Grondelski served as American Citizen Services chief
in Warsaw from 2002 to 2005, and now works on EUR’s
Russia desk in Washington. Rome RFBO Richard Groccia con-
tributed to this article.
DECEMBER 2005 23
Contents
Wiston House, site of the May
missile defense conference.
A PLAN FOR PEACE
MISSILE DEFENSE CONFERENCES STRENGTHEN INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
After a successful 2004 missile
defense conference in Europe spon-
sored by the Bureau of Arms Control,
two more were held this year with offi-
cials and opinion leaders from Europe
and Asia. The conferences, in England
and Thailand, were to exchange views
on missile defense and its role in secu-
rity and countering proliferation in the
21st century and to address issues of
concern to the participants.
In May, more than 60 people, includ-
ing officials from 9 U.S. embassies and
11 European countries, gathered at a
16th-century English manor called
Wiston House in West Sussex, United
Kingdom. The conference was cospon-
sored by AC (which has since been
reorganized into the bureaus of
International Security and Nonprolif-
24 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E
eration and Verification, Compliance
and Implementation) and the Bureau
of European and Eurasian Affairs and
was titled “Strengthening Transatlantic
Cooperation on Missile Defense.”
Three days of presentations featured
missile defense experts from the
Department, the Office of the Secretary
of Defense, the Missile Defense Agency
and major U.S. and European defense
corporations.
AC Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary Frank Record and Anita
Friedt of EUR delivered opening
remarks. NATO and the United
Kingdom’s Missile Defense Centre were
also represented. In the concluding
session, representatives from the United
Kingdom, Germany, France, Poland
and Russia spoke.
BY KERRY KARTCHNER
The focus was on providing an in-
depth exposure to U.S. missile defense
policies, programs and procedures.
Topics covered included U.S. missile
defense deployment efforts, missile
defense cooperation and trade control
issues, industry perspectives on joint
PHOTOGRAPHS: BUREAU OF VERIFICATION, COMPLIANCE
international missile defense opportu-
nities and national perspectives on
missile defense, proliferation and arms
control issues.
Among the highlights was the
graphic simulation of various missile
defense scenarios, presented by the
AND IMPLEMENTATION
Missile Defense Agency’s Joint National
Integration Center. The scenarios
involved a possible ballistic missile
threat to Europe and allowed workshop
Above: Participants in the May conference met in a 16th-century English manor called Wiston House. Below: During breaks, May conference partici-
pants visited Arundel Castle, portions of which date to the 12th century and the Norman conquest of England.

ARMS CONTROL ALSO COSPONSORED A MISSILE DEFENSE

CONFERENCE DURING OCTOBER IN BANGKOK, THAILAND.
participants to see how an actual
missile defense engagement would
unfold under a variety of conditions.
Some of the scenarios were run in real
time to demonstrate the short response
time.
Wiston House provided a tranquil
setting to focus on one of the
President’s main national security pri-
orities and to explore ways to
strengthen transatlantic cooperation on
missile defense as an approach to com-
bating the proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction and their ballistic
missile means of delivery.
AC also cosponsored a missile
defense conference in the form of an
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
Regional Forum Confidence Building
Seminar during October in Bangkok,
Thailand. ISN Acting Assistant
Secretary Stephen Rademaker led the
interagency U.S. delegation. The Royal ASEAN Regional Forum as a regional
Thai Government cohosted the event, security institution. I
attended by representatives and min-
isters from 21 countries. U.S. The author is senior adviser for missile
participants, including representatives defense policy, Bureau of Verification,
from the Department, the Office of the Compliance and Implementation.
Secretary of Defense and the Missile
Defense Agency, gave presentations
addressing U.S. missile defense policy,
the status of the U.S. missile defense
program and myths and misunder-
standings about missile defense.
This was the first time missile defense
had been discussed in such a frank and
open manner in a multinational Asian
context. The conference reflected the
U.S. commitment to transparency and
highlighted the threat of missile prolif-
eration and the contribution missile
defense can make to counter that
threat. It also underscored the U.S.
commitment to strengthening the

DECEMBER 2005 25
Contents
Assisting in the traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony are (from left) Frank Moss, deputy assistant secretary for passport services; Teresa Bobotek,
regional director, Seattle and Colorado Passport Agencies; Henrietta Fore, under secretary for management; and Sherman Portell, assistant director,
Colorado Passport Agency.
A Grand Opening
COLORADO PASSPORT AGENCY OFFERS 14-DAY SERVICE BY ROB WILEY
Supply and demand concepts apply to more than econom-
ics. In the State Department’s market of filling requests for
passports, demand recently caught up to and threatened to
exceed supply.
Part of the solution to that dilemma opened its doors on
Sept. 29 in the Cherry Creek Place III Corporate Center in
Aurora, Colo. The Department officially dedicated its newest
passport agency about a month later. The Colorado Passport
Agency is designed to meet the emergency travel needs of
American citizens throughout the Rocky Mountain region.
Located near Denver International Airport, the facility is
designed to improve the Department’s ability to meet those
travel needs.
“The Colorado Passport Agency demonstrates our dedica-
tion to providing passport services to citizens in the Rocky
Mountain region,” said keynote speaker Under Secretary for
Management Henrietta Fore. “You are growing, and we are
26 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E
growing with you. With this new agency, we now have 17
domestic passport agencies, 14 with public counters such as
this to provide expedited processing for citizens with urgent
travel plans.”
The current staff includes 19 employees directly involved in
processing passport requests. Initial staffing included three
employees from the New Orleans office, temporarily closed
because of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Two of those—
Shawn Diggs and Emanuel Haynes—decided to stay in
Denver.
“We charmed them with our space and our view,” says
Sherman Portell, assistant regional director of the Denver
PHOTOGRAPHS: ROB WILEY
Passport Agency.
The new agency accepts on-site appointments and issues
passports to eligible American citizen applicants. Regional
citizens traveling within 14 days who have not been able to
apply for a passport earlier may call the Passport Agency’s
Left: Deputy Assistant Secretary for Passport Services Frank Moss (right) spends quality time with special guests Mariana Diaz and Deputy Consul
General Juan Roberto Gonzalez Ramirez from the Consulate General of Mexico Denver office. Right: Some of the Denver staff (from left): Deborah
Hetrick, administrative assistant; Cynthia Grell, cashier; Tom Pollack, IT; Danielle Harnik, passport specialist; A.J. Calderone, Trans Digital
Technologies; Shawn Diggs, passport processing clerk; John DiRienzo, processing supervisor; and Ronnie Davis, passport processing. Mr. Diggs
came from the temporarily closed New Orleans passport office.
Automated Appointment System (1-877-487-2778) for expe-
dited service. The appointment system is available 24 hours a
day, and the Colorado Passport Agency is open from 8:30 a.m.
to 3:30 p.m. on weekdays, excluding holidays. Customers
planning trips more than 14 days away should apply at one of
the nearly 100 passport acceptance facilities across Colorado.
Ms. Fore noted that in fiscal year 2005, which ended Sept.
30, a record 10 million Americans applied for passports,
more than a million above the previous record, set in fiscal
year 2004. Department analysts are forecasting demand to
top 12 million in fiscal year 2006.
“Demand so far this year is up 40 percent,” Ms. Fore said.
“And as many of you know, beginning in 2007, Americans
traveling to the Caribbean, Bermuda, Canada or Mexico will
have to present more formal travel documentation to return
to the United States.”
The huge jump in demand coincided with the Katrina dis-
aster, which devastated New Orleans and forced the
temporary closing of the passport agency there. Absorbing
the work of one of the largest domestic passport service facil-
ities stressed an already burdened system, but the system
responded beautifully. For example, in less than three weeks
the Charleston office processed more than 115,000 passport
applications from the New Orleans office.
“Everyone pitched in and rose to the challenge,” Under
Secretary Fore said. “They willingly accepted additional
work, worked evenings and weekends to ensure that those
customers with applications that were pending in New
Orleans did not miss their trips.”
The Colorado agency is full of brand-new equipment to
handle the anticipated increased demand. Mr. Portell went to
the Denver job straight from the Systems Liaison Group in
Washington, where he and others analyzed system needs and
worked to keep equipment and software consistent through
all the Department’s passport agencies and centers.
“We tried to make sure everything was standardized,” Mr.
Portell says. “We wanted to maintain continuity between our
office and the other agencies across the country. A problem
here should be the same problem in Charleston. The rest is
hard work and teamwork.”
Mr. Portell’s goal is to process 150,000 passport applica-
tions in fiscal year 2006, an average of about 3,000 a week.
Since his team processed more than 4,000 in its third week
of operation, that goal seems reasonable. With the tempo-
rary loss of the New Orleans agency due to Hurricane
Katrina, the Department has been sending work from other
parts of the country, from Seattle to Miami, and the team
has responded.
“If they keep sending us the work, we’ll meet our goal,”
Mr. Portell says. “So far our average processing time for pass-
port applications has been less than 10 days.”
The dedication of the new facility included a ceremonial
ribbon-cutting event following additional remarks by Frank
Moss, deputy assistant secretary for passport services and
Teresa Bobotek, regional director of the Seattle and
Colorado passport agencies. Special guests included repre-
sentatives from regional congressional delegations,
including representatives from the offices of Colorado
Senators Ken Salazar and Wayne Allard; Wyoming Senators
Craig Thomas and Michael Enzi; Colorado representatives
Tom Tancredo and Joel Hefley; and Wyoming representative
Barbara Cubin.
Mariana Diaz and Deputy Consul General Juan Roberto
Gonzalez Ramirez from the Consulate General of Mexico
office in Denver added international flavor to the ceremony.
The under secretary also cited other Department bureaus,
particularly Administration and Diplomatic Security, that
helped throughout the planning and preparation of the
Colorado facility. A number of contractors were also singled
out for their part in making the facility operational, includ-
ing Stanley Associates, Citigroup, Star Realty, R&B
Construction and Trans Digital Technologies. I
The author is the editor of State Magazine.
DECEMBER 2005 27
Contents
Katrina’s
LEGACY
Editor’s Note: The State Department played a broad role in responding to the Hurricane Katrina
disaster. The Hurricane Katrina Task Force that worked from the Operations Center ran on a 24-
hour basis for 16 days, with more than 450 Department employees serving at least one shift. State
officers also participated in the Interagency Incident Management Group set up by the
Department of Homeland Security to address relief efforts. In addition, State contributed experts

PHOTOGRAPHS: (OPPOSITE PAGE TOP): OFFICE OF FOREIGN MISSIONS;

to the Response Management Team operated by U.S. Agency for International Development’s
Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, which coordinated the flow of international assistance with
Federal Emergency Management Agency and the State Task Force. Another 70 State personnel
staffed the Department’s forward office in Baton Rouge, as described in last month’s State
Magazine. One of the many offices contributing key roles to the Katrina response was the Houston
branch of the Office of Foreign Missions, which was uniquely positioned to provide front-line
support to the foreign diplomatic community, which was impacted by Katrina in myriad ways. OFM
Houston’s story follows.
(BOTTOM): USAID

S T O R Y B Y B O B H O P K I N S
28 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E
 After gathering strength in the
Caribbean, Hurricane Katrina swept
over southern Florida with 75-mile-
per-hour winds and emerged intact
into the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 26.
Katrina quickly intensified into a
monster Category 5 storm, with 175
MPH winds and one of the lowest
barometric pressures ever recorded.
Katrina rapidly evolved into one of
the most devastating natural disasters
in U.S. history and spurred the forced
relocation of hundreds of thousands
of homeless storm survivors from
New Orleans and elsewhere along the
Gulf Coast, perhaps the largest such
internal migration since the Civil War.
Katrina set the stage for the State
Department’s historic first-time
direct participation in domestic disas-
ter relief operations. Because of its Ambassador Joe Sullivan holds a press conference in New Orleans to thank German and Dutch
location, the Houston branch of the civilian engineers who spent more than a month pumping out the ninth ward, which suffered
the worst flooding in the city.

Korean diapers, stacked in a Red Cross warehouse, were among the donations sent by foreign
countries. Office of Foreign Missions was
called early and responded
quickly.
Hurricane Katrina’s landfall
catapulted the Houston branch of
the Office of Foreign Missions
into a key role—assisting in inter-
national aspects of disaster relief.
The local foreign Consular
Community was initially over-
whelmed by the huge scope of the
Hurricane Katrina disaster and
leaned heavily on OFM Houston
for moral support, disaster condi-
tion updates, regional shelter
contact information and general
information on Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency
(FEMA) and Red Cross disaster
assistance programs.
The small but energized
Houston OFM staff met the chal-

DECEMBER 2005 29
 conveyed approval for entry
into the Katrina-ravaged areas
for dozens of foreign consular
officers, including several con-
sular assessment teams from
the United Kingdom, Spain,
Mexico, Japan, Brazil, Australia,
Honduras and elsewhere.
Diplomatic Security physi-
cal security surveys were
scheduled for the nine career
consulates in New Orleans,
and although minor damage
occurred, all the offices were
still basically intact. In the
initial days, OFM Houston
also facilitated communication
between the Spanish Embassy,
the Louisiana National Guard
and Diplomatic Security in the
successful rescue of a Spanish
parliamentarian and her

family from the New Orleans

Convention Center.
The Department’s Katrina
Task Force, initially guided by
Ambassador Eileen Malloy
and subsequently by Deborah

PHOTOGRAPHS: (ABOVE): USAID; (OPPOSITE PAGE): OFFICE OF FOREIGN MISSIONS

McCarthy, acted as a central
A worker at a FEMA staging warehouse in New Iberia, La., poses with hundreds of boxes of supplies that clearinghouse for the interna-
went out to victims in the damaged coastal areas. tional community. OFM
Washington fully participated
lenges head-on and professionally coordinated important in the Task Force as Paulette Sides and other OFM employ-
disaster-related issues and operations for the diplomatic ees helped ensure diplomats from all foreign embassies and
community with a myriad of local, state and nongovern- consulates within the U.S. were professionally assisted with
mental organizations and diplomatic and federal agencies. their Katrina-related issues.
Though trying at times, the staff ’s 15-hour days during the
crisis period produced tangible results and grateful “clients.” STATE SOUTH
OFM Houston kept consular officers abreast of changes The Department opened the “State South” Command
by e-mailing detailed situation updates, providing daily Center in Baton Rouge on Sept. 6, under the leadership of
early morning briefings in the Reliant Center (Astrodome Ambassador Joe Sullivan, himself a displaced Diplomat in
complex) and through innumerable phone calls and meet- Residence from Tulane University. Since Louisiana is within
ings that lasted well into the evening hours. Once initial OFM Houston’s region, (author) Deputy Regional Director
security issues were resolved in New Orleans, the OFM staff Bob Hopkins was quickly incorporated into the State South

30 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E
BECAUSE OF THE FLOODWATERS, MANY OF THE DECEASED COULD NOT
BE RECOVERED UNTIL NEW ORLEANS WAS DEWATERED. EVEN AFTER
RECOVERY, THE IDENTIFICATION PROCESS WAS COMPLEX, AND AT PRESS
TIME OFM WAS MONITORING FOUR ACTIVE FOREIGN DEATH CASES.
staff and remained in Baton Rouge until he closed the office
Oct. 7. OFM’s daily routine in Baton Rouge included han-
dling all direct interactions with foreign diplomatic
personnel and consular officers in the region; coordinating
multiple foreign excursions into New Orleans and
Mississippi; interacting with displaced consular officers to
assist them in reorganizing temporary Consulate office sites
in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Hammond and elsewhere; com-
municating with DHS, USAID, FEMA and Louisiana
officials; fielding dozens of calls from foreign storm victims;
and conducting multiple daily meetings with foreign delega-
tions.
But the most demanding activity by far was interacting
with foreign consular officers, coroner officials, ICE repre-
OFM organized an escorted trip to New Orleans for rep-
resentatives from eight of the nine career consulates soon
after downtown areas were dewatered. Special agents from
the Diplomatic Security Miami Field Office and New
Orleans Resident Office accompanied the 11-car caravan,
and the foreign consular officers retrieved consular seals and
sensitive documents from their consulates.
Even though Katrina was devastating, the disaster gave
OFM Houston a unique opportunity to forge invaluable
professional and lasting personal relationships with the
foreign consular corps and our colleagues in the Diplomatic
Security Service. I
The author is OFM deputy regional director in Houston.

Flooding devastated the low-lying ninth ward in New Orleans.

sentatives, the Red Cross, Task Force 1 and State
South’s two Consular Affairs Officers to locate
and catalog displaced or missing foreign citizens.
In foreign mortality cases, detailed personal and
geographic information from the next of kin was
used by field coroners at the Katrina morgue
facility near Baton Rouge. Because of the flood-
waters, many of the deceased could not be
recovered until New Orleans was dewatered.
Even after recovery, the identification process
was complex, and at press time OFM was moni-
toring four active foreign death cases.
For the author, the opportunity to work
closely with Consular Affairs officers Chris
Lamora and Steve Sena at State South was an
extremely valuable learning experience. They
quickly reduced the number of missing foreign-
ers from several thousand to several hundred and
the number of presumed foreign dead from
several hundred to fewer than 30. Even then,
most of the confirmed foreign deaths were dual
nationals with U.S. citizenship.

DECEMBER 2005 31
Contents
 WINNING
the Next Phase
of the War
for Talent BY SARAH CRAIG AND
MARIANNE MYLES

In January 2005, the State Department asked McKinsey & Co.

to update the “War for Talent” study that the Una Chapman Cox
Foundation had generously funded. The company evaluated
State’s efforts since 1999 in five key areas linked to the 1999
findings: recruiting and hiring, professional development,
spousal employment, performance evaluation and overall
commitment to leadership of the work force.
The Department also asked McKinsey to recommend
future steps. McKinsey’s findings on progress to date as well
as the areas for future emphasis are summarized here.

1999 WAR FOR TALENT

In 1999, the Department asked McKinsey & Co. to eval-
uate its efforts to ensure that State would have the executive
talent it needed to fulfill its mission. That study, called
“The War for Talent,” provided a road map for State at a
time when the Department needed to refortify its ranks
and renew its strength.
McKinsey compared broad survey results from State in
1999 with 80 high-performing private sector companies.
The company found at that time that while State’s talent
pool was strong in the aggregate, there were identifiable
gaps, particularly in the perceptions of “people” leadership.
McKinsey concluded that a dramatic across-the-board talent effort
should be undertaken to focus on managing Department talent.
The report identified five specific areas on which State needed to
focus:
• Talent Management: Senior managers did not rank talent manage-
ment as a top priority.
• Expectations: Realities and expectations were not being communi-
cated adequately during the recruitment/assimilation processes for
new employees.

32 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E
 • Job Satisfaction: New employees viewed job autonomy,
responsibility, mentoring/coaching, advancement speed and
feedback as unsatisfactory.
• Performance: Inadequate emphasis on this issue had led
to insufficient distinctions between high and low
performers.
• Retention: Better compensation or opportunities else-
where and spouse career conflicts were looming as likely
retention issues.
SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS
After the 2005 review, McKinsey reported that “Despite
variations in the amount of progress across the five areas
[since 1999], the cumulative effect of the changes has been
dramatic. The vast majority of the employees we interviewed
believe the changes have increased the Department’s ability to
fulfill its mission and have improved employee morale.”
“
The Department
has the opportunity
to increase the morale,
productivity and
efficacy of its work-
force by both building
upon and expanding
beyond these past
“ phase of the war for talent, the Department should focus on
successes.
In 2005, McKinsey found that of the five areas reviewed, the
most notable progress was found in two: recruitment and
hiring and increasing the commitment to people leadership.
They noted several highlights, including
• Successes in increasing the number and caliber of recruits
and increasing the overall number of employees by more
than 2,000 in three years. Since much of the success was
rooted in securing resources, McKinsey noted, “The fore-
most reason why the Department obtained the additional
funding was because the senior team repeatedly
impressed upon Congress the imperative of having a
strong diplomatic corps, particularly given the war on
terror.” In addition, the report cited improved marketing
and the cultivation of successful applicants as a key to the
recruitment successes.
• Considerable improvement in the Department’s commit-
ment to coaching, developing and motivating employees,
noting “The top team in particular has rewarded strong
people leadership, participated in important Depart-
mental rituals, fought for resources and expanded
leadership training.” The report emphasizes that the
Department success was largely due to support and par-
ticipation of top leadership.
• Progress in professional development and spousal
employment. However, the report concluded that both
areas are just beginning to address the concerns of the
1999 report.
THE ROAD AHEAD
Looking to the future, McKinsey advises that “Getting to
the next level of performance will require the Department
both to build upon these recent successes and to address
issues that it did not emphasize in the 1999–2004 period.”
McKinsey recommended that the Department focus on
four themes in the next phase of the war for talent:
• Make the 1999–2005 advances “stick.”
• Increase middle managers’ commitment to people leader-
ship, in word and action.
• Address a growing call for more consistently challenging
work.
• Build the talent for transformational diplomacy.
MCKINSEY’S CONCLUSION
“The State Department has made significant improve-
ments in talent management over the past five years. The
Department has the opportunity to increase the morale, pro-
ductivity and efficacy of its workforce by both building upon
and expanding beyond these past successes. To win the next
completing and institutionalizing its recent talent manage-
ment advances, building middle managers’ commitment to
people leadership, answering the growing call for more chal-
lenging work and building the skills for transformational
diplomacy. By acting on these four themes, the Department
will improve its ability to manage the most important
resource in facing a transformed diplomatic environment—
its people.” I
Sara Craig is a policy officer in the Office of Policy
Coordination; Marianne Myles is director of the Office of
Recruitment, Examination and Employment.
Editor’s Note: Inspired by the kindness of a Foreign Service
officer in 1948 Bombay, Una Chapman Cox chartered the
Una Chapman Cox Foundation as the first nonprofit foun-
dation to promote the effectiveness and professionalism of
the Foreign Service. The Foundation recently celebrated its
25th anniversary by honoring retired Foreign Service officer
Royal D. Bisbee, recently identified as the vice consul who
went above and beyond the call of duty.
DECEMBER 2005 33
Contents
 Hear, Hear
We live in a noisy world that seems to
get louder every day: blaring car horns,
airplanes thundering overhead, music
pumped through the headset of an
iPod, deafening industrial and con-
struction noise. Life shouts along. Noise
affects us in many ways and in many
cases so subtly that we often don’t
realize it until it is too late.
Noise is defined as unwanted sound.
It is measured in units called decibels.
Normal conversation is about 60 dB.
34 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E
Routine exposure to noise levels above
TO PROTECT 85 dB-A (on the A-weighted scale,
which most closely approximates
YOUR EARS, human hearing) over an eight-hour
workday will damage hearing. Because
the scale is logarithmic, an increase of 3
TURN DOWN dB-A doubles the acoustic energy, so 88
dB-A is considered twice as loud as 85.
PHOTOGRAPH: CORBIS
THE VOLUME The louder the noise, the quicker
hearing loss can occur. The maximum
safe exposure time at 100 dB-A is 15
BY KATE BRADFORD minutes.

Noise affects health in many ways.
The largest impact is hearing loss,
which has been well documented in
noisy workplaces. A World Health
Organization report on noise finds that
it can also cause hypertension and
heart disease and have psychological
effects such as disturbed sleep and
stress. It can reduce performance in
reading comprehension, attentiveness,
problem solving and memory. It
increases the likelihood of accidents
and leads to changes in social behavior.
Noise above 80 dB-A may trigger
aggressive behavior.
Loud World
While many workplaces find ways to
decrease job-related noise, community-
related noise is increasing and
becoming an important public health
problem. Recreational items generate
more and more noise: iPods, Jet Skis,
lawn mowers, leaf blowers—even the
toys we buy for our children. People
seek out noisy places for entertainment,
including bars, rock concerts, movie
theaters and sporting events. Hobbies
like yard work, carpentry, motorcycle
riding and power boating often gener-
ate noise.
Hearing loss is not a natural result of
aging; studies have shown that people
not exposed to noise can retain nearly
perfect hearing into old age.
Noise-induced hearing loss generally
occurs unnoticed, since it is gradual
and painless. It is also happening earlier
in life. The baby boom generation—the
first to listen to rock and roll, use
Walkmans and enjoy noisy recreational
activities—is suffering from wide-
spread NIHL.
Yet, according to Dr. Ronna Fisher,
audiologist at the Hearing Health
Center in Chicago, NIHL is even more
prevalent among today’s youth, owing
in part to the use of personal audio
equipment. A recent study by the
National Center for Environmental
Health found that 14.9 percent of chil-
dren between the ages of 6 and 19 years
have hearing loss in one or both ears as
a result of exposure to noise. European
S A F E T Y S C E N E
standards set maximum output of per-
sonal audio equipment at 100 dB-A.
The United States has no such stan-
dards and levels above 120 dB-A are not
uncommon.
NIHL usually begins when the hair
cells in the inner ear, called cilia, are
flattened. After a period of quiet, the
cilia straighten up again, but repeated
exposure to noise will cause permanent
The baby boom
generation—the first
to listen to rock and
roll, use Walkmans
and enjoy noisy
recreational activities
—is suffering from
widespread NIHL.
damage—like killing grass by tram-
pling on it too much. Unlike grass,
however, cilia do not grow back once
the damage has occurred. Dr. Fisher
says that “hearing is rarely checked
until symptoms appear, and then it’s
too late to undo the damage. Hearing
loss is cumulative, permanent and irre-
versible. And people generally wait 7 to
10 years after first noticing symptoms
before seeking medical help.”
Destroying the cilia results in the loss
of the ability to hear certain sound
frequencies, beginning around the
4,000-Hertz range. These frequencies
are critically important for communi-
cation, since consonants known as the
speech discriminators—the s, f, sh, th, p
and d sounds—are in this range. The
first sign of damage is usually difficulty
understanding others when there is
background noise. Another sign is
ringing or buzzing in the ears, called
tinnitus. A Swiss study of youths aged
16 to 25 found that 71 percent reported
experiencing tinnitus following atten-
dance at a music event.
Limit the Damage—Now
NIHL is preventable by limiting
exposure to noise, either by turning
down the volume or wearing hearing
protection such as earplugs. If you must
raise your voice to be heard by someone
an arm’s length away or find yourself
straining to hear someone over back-
ground noise, the noise level is likely
harming your hearing. Dr. Fisher esti-
mates that every rock concert people
attend ages their ears by 2.5 years. If you
go to a rock concert, take earplugs.
Get a hearing examination if you
think you may have hearing loss or if
you have symptoms similar to those
described here. This will serve two pur-
poses: to get you help if needed and to
establish a baseline against which to
monitor future changes in your
hearing.
Invest in noise-canceling headphones
for personal music devices. These dra-
matically reduce background noise and
improve the quality of the sound, so the
volume can be set lower.
Consider noise levels when buying
recreational equipment, toys, house-
hold appliances and power tools.
Choose quieter models whenever possi-
ble, especially for frequently used items
like vacuum cleaners and lawn mowers.
Pay attention to noise from your chil-
dren’s toys and teach them to lower the
volume on iPods. If you can hear their
music from headphones at an arm’s
length away, it’s too loud.
For most of us, hearing well is a crit-
ical factor in our quality of life. We rely
on it to communicate. And it allows us
to hear beauty in music, serves as a
warning against danger and provides
confirmation that we ourselves have
been heard. Protect your ability to hear
before it is too late. I
The author is a certified industrial
hygienist in the Safety, Health and
Environmental Management Division.
DECEMBER 2005 35
Contents
 PEOPLE LIKE YOU

WORD
PASSION
HISTORY BUFF WRITES
ACCLAIMED BOOKS—
IN HIS SPARE TIME
BY BILL PALMER
During the week, Peter Cozzens works in the
bustling city of Monterrey, Mexico. On weekends,
he travels to a different world altogether: the
verdant Shenandoah Valley in the rural heart of
Virginia.
It’s not as exhausting as it sounds. His mind
makes the trip, not his body. He pores over pho-
tocopies of diaries, letters, official reports and
other primary-source documents in reconstruct-
ing the valley campaign of Confederate general
Stonewall Jackson and forming it into a narrative
that will eventually be his 15th book on the Civil
War and American Indian wars. Peter Cozzens holds a copy of his first book at Manassas National Battlefield Park.
Peter, a Foreign Service officer serving as
deputy consul general in Monterrey—one of the largest U.S. eminent historians praised it, it was finally published as No
consulates in the world—is also a critically acclaimed author Better Place to Die: The Battle of Stones River. It became a
and editor. Except for his first book, written before he joined Book-of-the-Month Club selection and History Book Club
the Department, and his second, written during a year’s leave bestseller.
of absence, all his historical research, writing and lecturing His next two books, This Terrible Sound: The Battle of
takes place during his off-hours and leave days from his full- Chickamauga and The Shipwreck of Their Hopes: The Battles
time diplomatic career. for Chattanooga, were History Book Club main selections
He has been interested in military history from the time he and were chosen by Civil War Magazine as 2 of the 100 great-
PHOTOGRAPH: CIVIL WAR MAGAZINE

learned to read. He participated in Civil War roundtables all est books (out of more than 60,000) written on the Civil War.
through high school in suburban Chicago. After college, he But still he kept his day job.
joined the Army and got the itch to write. What better subject How does he manage two simultaneous careers? First, he
than the Civil War? He looked for a campaign “that hadn’t always looks for assignments in the Western Hemisphere—
been written into the ground” and produced a manuscript Mexico, Peru, Panama, Costa Rica—so he is a reasonable
that made its way to the director of the University of Illinois flying distance to battlefields and speaking engagements.
Press, where it sat on a shelf for six months. After two (His experience of battlefields is not just academic: In Peru, a

36 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E
 PEOPLE LIKE YOU
guerrilla group detonated a bomb that shattered the sliding
doors of his apartment and blew glass shards onto the bed he
had been sleeping in minutes before.)
He dedicates one day each weekend to writing. He can’t do
much research via the Internet because he mostly uses
primary sources, many unpublished, that sit in libraries and
historical societies. His reputation is such that he has little
trouble getting archivists to send him photocopies. “My book
royalties get recycled back into research expenses,” he notes.
He always visits the battlefields he writes about, most of
which are national military parks. “It is critical to walk the
ground,” he says, to uncover lies in official reports and
understand the problems of maneuvering troops over a
certain terrain. During his research on Chickamauga, for
example, he spent four weeks on the battlefield and in the
park library.
His Army years gave him an understanding of the basic
principles of war, which he says haven’t changed much. To
get a sense of how war might have felt to the ordinary soldier,
he has taken part in Civil War reenactments, where he might
spend several days sleeping on the ground in an itchy woolen
uniform, not bathing, eating hardtack and pork belly and
experiencing the noise and confusion of battle (minus the
live ammunition). “I try to relate the human side, the
soldier’s perspective in my books,” he says.
Moving from the Civil War to the Indian wars was a logical
progression. Peter discovered the memoirs of Union general
John Pope, who fell into disgrace after losing the second
battle of Bull Run and was sent out West to fight Indians.
Peter collected and published the memoirs and later wrote a
biography of Pope. Interestingly, he found that Pope and
some other generals became advocates for Indian rights, a
stand that put them in opposition to many politicians, set-
tlers and land grabbers.
Peter’s five-volume work on the Indian wars has been
called by experts the most comprehensive and important
work on those wars.
He has returned to the Civil War for his latest book on the
legendary Jackson, who he is finding to be “not as great as his
popular image.” Next, he is planning a book on the
Petersburg campaign, which lasted 10 months but has never
been subjected to single-volume treatment. “That should
take care of the next six or seven years,” he says.
When he retires, he hopes to continue writing—including
perhaps historical fiction—as well as teach history and
lecture. He wouldn’t mind more gigs like a Civil War cruise
down the Mississippi he took on the American Queen, the
largest inland cruise ship in the world. He and his wife
enjoyed free accommodations for giving battlefield tours to
other passengers, who were paying $1,000 a day.
But it’s not the perks that keep him going. “It’s a passion,”
he says. “I feel compelled to do it.” I
The author is a writer/editor at State Magazine.
Peter Cozzens’ published books
No Better Place to Die: The Battle of Stones River.
Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990. (A selection of
the Book-of-the-Month Club and a History Book Club
bestseller).
This Terrible Sound: The Battle of Chickamauga.
Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1992. (A Main
Selection of the History Book Club).
The Shipwreck of Their Hopes: The Battles for
Chattanooga. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994.
(A Main Selection of the History Book Club).
The Darkest Days of the War: The Battles of Iuka and
Corinth. Chapel Hill: University Press of North Carolina,
1997. (A selection of the History Book Club).
The Military Memoirs of General John Pope. Chapel
Hill: University Press of North Carolina, 1999. (A selec-
tion of the History Book Club).
General John Pope: A Life for the Nation. Urbana:
University of Illinois Press, 2000. (A selection of the
History Book Club).
Eyewitnesses to the Indian Wars, Volume 1: The
Struggle for Apacheria. Mechanicsburg: Stackpole
Books, 2001. (A selection of the History Book Club).
Eyewitnesses to the Indian Wars, Volume 2: The Wars
for the Pacific Northwest. Mechanicsburg: Stackpole
Books, 2002. (A selection of the History Book Club).
Eyewitnesses to the Indian Wars, Volume 3: Conquering
the Southern Plains. Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books,
2003. (A selection of the History Book Club).
Eyewitnesses to the Indian Wars, Volume 4: The Long
War for the Northern Plains. Mechanicsburg: Stackpole
Books, 2004. (A selection of the History Book Club and
the Military Book Club).
Eyewitnesses to the Indian Wars, Volume 5: The Army
and the Indian. Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books, 2004.
(A selection of the History Book Club).
The New Annals of the Civil War. Mechanicsburg:
Stackpole Books, 2004. (A selection of the History Book
Club and the Military Book Club).
Shenandoah: The Valley Campaign of 1862. (work in
progress; forthcoming from the University Press of
North Carolina).
DECEMBER 2005 37
Contents
 GEORGE P. SHULTZ NATIONAL FOREIGN AFFAIRS TRAINING CENTER

education
& training
Student Records Online Dates for FSI Transition Center Courses are shown below. For informa-
Need your class schedule or an unofficial transcript of training taken tion on all the courses available at FSI, visit the FSI Schedule of
through FSI? Visit the FSI Registrar’s Office web page on the Courses on the Department of State’s OpenNet at http://fsi.state.gov.
Department of State OpenNet at http://fsi.state.gov/admin/reg. See Department Notices for announcements of new courses and new
course dates and periodic announcements of external training oppor-
Mandatory Leadership Training tunities sponsored by FSI.
Leadership training is mandatory for Foreign Service and Civil Service
employees at the FS-03/GS-13 levels and above to ensure that they Security JAN FEB Length
have the necessary preparation for increasing levels of responsibility.
FSI’s Leadership and Management School offers the required courses
MQ911 SOS: Security Overseas Seminar 9, 23 6,13 2D
to meet these mandatory training requirements, and other leadership
courses for all FS and GS employees.
MQ912 ASOS: Advanced Security
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FS-2/GS-14 PT207 Intermediate Leadership Skills Foreign Service Life Skills JAN FEB Length
FS-1/GS-15 PT210 Advanced Leadership Skills
MQ104 Regulations and Finances 13 3D
Managers and Supervisors
PT107 EEO Diversity Awareness for Managers MQ111 Making Presentations: Design
and Supervisors to Delivery 8 3D
Newly promoted FS-OC/SES
PT133 Senior Executive Threshold Seminar MQ115 Explaining America 27 1D

MQ116 Protocol and U.S. Representation

Senior Policy Seminars Abroad 28 25 1D
FSI’s Leadership and Management School offers professional develop-
ment and policy seminars for senior-level executives of the MQ117 Tax Seminar 22 1D
Department and the foreign affairs/national security community.
MQ203 Singles in Foreign Service 11 .5D
For more information contact FSI’s Leadership and Management
School at (703) 302-6743, FSILMS@state.gov or MQ802 Communicating Across Cultures 4 1D
http://fsiweb.fsi.state.gov/fsi/lms/.
MQ853 Managing Rental Property Overseas 25 1D
FasTrac Distance Learning Program, Learn at
Your Own Pace, When and Where You Want! MQ915 Emergency Medical Care and
All State Department employees, FSNs and EFMs are eligible. With Trauma Workshop 25 1D
your FasTrac password, you may access the entire FasTrac catalog of
more than 3,000 courses, from home or office (Intranet or Internet).
Courses cover numerous topics, such as project management, com- Career Transition Center JAN FEB Length
puter skills and grammar and writing skills, as well as soft skills such as
leadership training. To view the complete FasTrac catalog, visit the RV101 Retirement Planning Seminar 28 4D
FasTrac web site at http://fsi.state.gov/fastrac.

FSI Distance Learning Program

Length: H = Hours, D = Days, W = Weeks
An extensive menu of FSI-developed distance learning courses is also
available to eligible participants on the FSI learning management sys-
tem. See (U) State 009772 dated January 14, 2005, or the FSI web For additional information, please contact the Office of the Registrar
page (Distance Learning) for information. at (703) 302-7144/7137.

38 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E
Contents
 APPOINTMENTS
U.S. Representative to the United
Nations. John Robert Bolton of
Maryland, an attorney and longtime
public servant, is the new U.S.
Representative to the United Nations.
Until recently, he was Under Secretary
for Arms Control and International
Security. Prior to that, he was senior
vice president of the American
Enterprise Institute. His other positions
include assistant secretary for International Organization
Affairs at State, assistant attorney general at Justice and assis-
tant administrator for Policy and Program Coordination at
the U.S. Agency for International Development.
U.S. Ambassador to Belize. Robert
Johann Dieter of Colorado, an attor-
ney and law professor, is the new U.S.
Ambassador to Belize. Previously, he
was clinical professor of law at the
University of Colorado. Before that,
he was a deputy district attorney and
in private practice. In 2003, President
Bush appointed him to the board of
the Legal Services Corporation, which
funds legal aid programs. He is married and has three
children.
U.S. Representative to the Organ-
ization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe. Julie Finley of the District of
Columbia, a political and community
activist, is the new U.S. Representative
to the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe. Until recently,
she was a trustee of the National
Endowment for Democracy. She was a
founder of the U.S. Committee on
NATO. She served as D.C. Republican National committee-
woman, 2000–2004, and was national finance co-chairman
for Bush-Cheney ’04 for D.C. She is widowed and has two
sons.
Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy.
Karen Hughes of Texas, a former White
House and campaign official, is the new
Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy
and Public Affairs. She was counselor to
President Bush during his first term and
his communications director for the
2000 presidential campaign. She was
also his communications director
during his six years as governor of
Texas. Before that, she was a television news reporter.
Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs.
Sean Ian McCormack of the District of
Columbia, a career member of the
Foreign Service, Class Two, is the new
Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs.
Previously, he was spokesman for the
National Security Council and deputy
White House press secretary for foreign
policy. His overseas assignments include
Ankara and Algiers. Prior to joining the
Foreign Service, he was an arms control and nonproliferation
analyst at Meridian Corporation.
U.S. Ambassador to Egypt. Francis
Joseph Ricciardone Jr. of New
Hampshire, a career member of the
Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-
Counselor, is the new U.S. Ambassador
to the Arab Republic of Egypt. Until
recently, he was ambassador to the
Philippines and Palau. Prior to that, he
was director of the Department’s Task
Force on the Coalition Against
Terrorism and senior adviser to the Director General of the
Foreign Service. His other overseas assignments include
Ankara, Cairo, Amman, London and Egypt’s Sinai Desert.
Under Secretary for Economic,
Business and Agricultural Affairs.
Josette Sheeran Shiner of Virginia, a
government official, businesswoman
and journalist, is the new Under
Secretary for Economic, Business and
Agricultural Affairs. Until recently, she
was deputy United States Trade
Representative. Before that, she was
managing director of Starpoint
Solutions, a technology firm. She was managing editor of the
Washington Times and wrote a nationally syndicated column
for Scripps Howard News Service.
Assistant Secretary for International
Organization Affairs. Kristen Silver-
berg of Texas, an attorney and White
House official, is the new Assistant
Secretary for International Organi-
zation Affairs. She previously served as
deputy assistant to the President and
adviser to the White House chief of
staff. She also served as deputy assistant
to the President for domestic policy.
Prior to that, she served as senior adviser to Ambassador Paul
Bremer in Iraq. Earlier, she served as law clerk to Supreme
Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
DECEMBER 2005 39
 O B I T U A R I E S

Wilfred P. Allard, 92, a retired Foreign
Service officer, died Oct. 5 after a short
illness in Arlington, Va. He served with
Military Intelligence before joining the
Department in 1944. His overseas post-
ings included Panama, Lima, Paris,
Buenos Aires, Kuala Lumpur, Saigon and
Vientiane. After retirement, he served as
an escort-interpreter for French- and
Spanish-speaking official visitors.
Angeliki Kresse, 78, wife of retired
Foreign Service officer Thomas R.
Kresse, died Aug. 3 of lung cancer in
Athens, Greece. She accompanied her
husband on overseas postings to
Helsinki, Montevideo, Damascus,
Valletta, Bangkok, Manila, Brussels and
Athens.
Katheryne Seep Loughran, 79, wife of
retired Foreign Service officer John
Loughran, died of cancer in Chevy
Chase, Md. She accompanied her
husband on overseas postings to
England, France, Germany, Liberia, The
Gambia, Senegal and Somalia, where he
was ambassador. She and her husband
created the Foundation for Cross
Cultural Understanding and developed
exhibits and programs on African culture. She was a painter
known for her portraits, still lifes and landscapes.
Lauralee Peters, 62, a retired Foreign
Service officer, died Aug. 23 in Virginia.
Her overseas assignments included
Paraguay, Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan
and Sierra Leone, where she served as
ambassador. A security and personnel
consultant, she lectured frequently at
U.S. military schools and installations.
Her interests included the American
Horticultural Society, Meals on Wheels
and the Boy Scouts.
Clayton Frederick “Rick” Ruebensaal Jr.,
53, a retired Foreign Service officer, died
Oct. 19 of heart failure in Bethesda, Md.
His overseas assignments included
Udorn and Bangkok, Thailand; Geneva,
Switzerland; Hamilton, Bermuda; and
Tel Aviv. Most recently, he played a lead
role in negotiating an economic support
program for Micronesia.
Lynn Eugene Stevens, 61, a retired Foreign Service officer,
died Oct. 11 in Tucson, Ariz. Before joining the Department,
he served in the Navy. His overseas postings included
Madrid, Melbourne, Vienna, Brussels, Maseru, La Paz,
Johannesburg, Mexico City, Guinea-Bissau, Tokyo and
Bridgetown. He retired in 1998.

R E T I R E M E N T S

CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENTS FOREIGN SERVICE RETIREMENTS

Adams, William Lee
Barcas, Catherine H.
Copas, Aulikki K.
Cunningham, John
Dearing, John A.
Dudley, Charlotte E.
Jones, Andrea G.
Kagen, Betsy Helen
Krantz Jr., Robert L.
Lee, Sue Li Amis, Donald J. Fort, Jane Anderson Benton Lyon, David L.
McDonald, Dian J. Ballif IV, John Lyman French, Michael D. McGevna, Helena Nienstedt
Miller, Bowman H. Battle, Vincent M. Gallant, Craig J. Murphy, Thomas M.
Miller, John A. Blaney, John William Graham, Nancy L. Ohta, John T.
Reid, Ann Madison Boggs Jr., Robert K. Greene, James F. Palmer Jr., William M.
Reitz, Hazel M. Boorstein, Michael A. Hillman, Stuart R. Peavy, M. Angier
Brito, Sandra Hamilton Holland, Ann H. Pendergrass, Dewey R.
Richter, Jay Elliot
Brooks, William E. Hyams, Robert Steven Perez, Abelardo Infante
Tyler, Jean L. Browning, Robert L. Interlandi, Anthony John Salazar, Patricia E.
Walton, Annette G. Bushnell, Prudence Johnson, Carolyn R. Spikes, Daniel Alan
Cairo, Frank D. Johnson, Daniel A. Sprow, Gregory Brian
Caples, Cynthia B. Johnson, Sura R. Swain Jr., Levia F.
Corley, Tommy G. Johnson, Thomas N. Sykes, Jill Ahearn
Donelson, Joe M. Keeton, Edward David Sykes, Kenneth Edward
Feely, Billy D. Krueger, Karen E. Terpstra, Donald E.
Finn, Robert Patrick John Kunstadter Jr., John W. Tynes, Robert E.
Fitzpatrick, Mark T. Lauer, Roger

40 S TAT E M A G A Z I N E
Contents
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